In Public, I Call Her Sister
by naelany
Summary: Vera's been Rosalie's best friend since they were babes. They're also in love, though no one can ever know.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Thanks to Evieeden, who not only made this banner, inspired this story, but also beta'd it.

Hope you'll follow along Rose's path with me. There's 50 chapters, and I'll be posting daily.

As ever, I don't own Twilight, it owns me.

**ooOoo**

We whisper quietly in the night, as we've done countless times before over the past fifteen years.

Under the safety of our blankets we reveal our secrets to each other. We giggle, then shush one another so as not to risk Mother or Father coming in and finding us still awake.

There is one secret, however, I daren't share. Not even with Vera - my best friend and confidante for as long as I can remember.

Vera, who has long been the one who's invaded my most private thoughts.

Vera, who would surely condemn me if she ever found out .


	2. Chapter 2

Mother's taking us out shopping for our coming out party. Neither Vera's, nor my family, is high enough on the social ladder to attend any formal debutante balls - something that nettles my parents greatly.

It hasn't stopped them from doing all they can to propel me out into the spotlight.

Not that I mind, so long as Vera is there with me. I know I'm beautiful, everyone always tells me so. But it is her that makes me _feel _it.

Vera smiles at me, hooking my pinky finger with hers, silently conveying her excitement about staying the night again.


	3. Chapter 3

She blushes as her hand finds mine under the covers - it strikes me as odd, since this isn't anything we haven't done before. We're lying on our sides as always, but there's something different this time.

We've been sharing secrets again, as is our ritual.

"Rose?" she murmurs, uncertainty clear in both her voice and her eyes.

"Yes, Vera?"

"Can I tell you a secret? A real one, I mean?"

I nod.

Instead of speaking, Vera leans in, brushing her lips ever-so-softly against mine. "I love you, Rosalie," she whispers shyly.

"And I, you, Vera." I squeeze her hand .


	4. Chapter 4

We agree that no one must know. No one can _ever _find out. If they did, they would surely separate us.

_If _Father _ever discovered_ _..._

I shudder at the thought. As ambitious as my parents are, he would not take kindly to find his daughter had been...spoiled.

Used goods.

I know that what I feel for Vera is improper, but I simply cannot help myself. I still can't believe she feels the same way about me.

So we keep our secret.

People always say we're as close as sisters, so that's what I call her.

My sister.

_My love_ _._


	5. Chapter 5

Vera's parents are asleep, their bedrooms on the far side of the hall. Knowing that they could walk in on us heightens everything.__

My back arches at her touch, a low moan slipping past my lips.__

_"_Shhh! You _must _be quiet, Rosalie!" she whispers admonishingly, even as her very actions prove to makethat nighimpossible.__

Her fingers curl inside of me, doing wickedly heathen - _delicious, heavenly _- things to me.__

I need more.__

Keening softly, I reach for her, kissing her frantically as she brings me to completion - as she damns me to hell.__

_I'm in Heaven._


	6. Chapter 6

_Lloyd Henry Roche_.

How I despise him.

Envy him.

_He _is free to court Vera - to hold her hand, touch her, caress her.

To steal a kiss from her.

He's been courting her for weeks and I cannot stand it.

Sitting behind my dressing table, I stare blankly at my reflection. I've claimed a headache in order to be left alone by Mother and my brothers.

In truth, I'm sulking,thinking about how things will never be the same again.

That I've lost her.

A sob threatens at the realization that I never truly had her to begin with.


	7. Chapter 7

A soft knock startles me out of my reverie. Quickly wiping away a few stray tears, I clear my throat, straightening my posture and turning to the door. "Come in."

Vera tentatively steps into my room, closing the door behind her with a soft _click_. She leans against it. For a moment we just stare at each other.

Slowly, she steps forward until she's right in front of me. Her soft hand touches my cheek as she kneels down before me, our eyes never breaking contact.

"Oh, Rose... my beautiful Rose..." She sighs. "I still love you, my precious one."


	8. Chapter 8

Turning my head, I try to hide the hurt I feel. Hurt I know I have no _right _to feel. My heart believes differently and a lone tear trails down my cheek.

Vera cups my face in her hands, forcing me to look at her. I swallow hard when I see her eyes shimmer, too. "Rosalie, I'm sorry. So sorry. I wish... I wish things were different, but Father..."

Her jaw works a few times before she continues. "Lloyd's a good man, at least, and I _do _love him, in a way. Or I believe I _could _do... someday..."


	9. Chapter 9

I know she's right, that she doesn't have a choice in the matter - neither of us do. I know how her father's been pushing the issue of Vera finally finding a man to take care of her.

He isn't uncaring by any means, but feels it's the duty of a daughter to be wed early and have children. He's been pressing her nearly from the moment we had come out to society. In truth, it should surprise me that Vera's been able to hold out for as long as this.

At least _he'll _allow her the choice of _who..._


	10. Chapter 10

We talk in hushed tones, comforting each other as best we can, trying to find a way around things.

There is none.

We both know that Lloyd is completely smitten with her and that it won't be long until he'll ask her father for her hand.

So we do the only thing we can and try to put deeper thought to her upcoming wedding. She asks me if I'll still be her maid of honor. Of course, I accept, even though it'll break my heart to see her given to another.

We promise to always be there for each other.


	11. Chapter 11

Weeks fly by and the day is finally here. I help Vera fix her hair, making it look just so. Letting my fingers linger along her neck, our eyes meet in the mirror. She reaches her hand up to pat mine, a sad smile on her lips.

My own isn't much better, so I close my eyes briefly, take a deep breath, then flash her a happier one. "You've never looked more beautiful, Vera. Lloyd is a lucky man."

I stop, unable to continue without risking my voice betraying me. Squeezing her shoulders, I manage, "Come, it's time."

She nods.


	12. Chapter 12

Watching her walk down the aisle is agony. No one else notices, but I see how she steels herself, forcing the smile on her face to brilliancy. A glance at Lloyd tells me he's too deliriously happy to have picked up on it.

Good. I'm glad. As much as this pains me, to see the love of my life be wed to another, I wish her no harm. Only happiness.

Our eyes meet briefly and for just a second, she falters. She brushes it off as tripping over her veil and moves on.

I barely make it through the ceremony.


	13. Chapter 13

Vera and Lloyd have just returned from their honeymoon in the country - a gift from her parents. The _only _gift they'd been able to afford. Vera had been thrilled. At least, she looked it.

I sigh, my finger lightly caressing the image in front of me of a smiling Vera, Lloyd's arm secure around her waist.

This, the album I have put together of her wedding day, is _my _gift to her. Not the pictures, mind, as those are ones her father had taken. But everything else is mine.

The hidden messages no one will ever see, are mine.


	14. Chapter 14

I try to keep my promise to Vera but it's so very difficult to witness how the two of them have grown so close. To see her allow Lloyd's touches and shows of affection.

The jealousy I feel is two-fold: I want it to be _me _instead.

Both as the one to touch her, and to be in her place. Not that I desire Lloyd - I purely don't. But to have someone as devoted to me as he is to her...

That, I long for.

Still, I do my best not to let on and be happy for her.


	15. Chapter 15

It's been weeks since I've seen her last. I'm trying to figure out what's different about her, but I can't place it.

She nervously places her teacup down, straightening her skirt. Her eyes continually flit between me and her hands, which are fiddling with her apron.

"Rose?" she whispers, finally looking at me fully, apprehensively.

I wait.

"I-I...I'm pregnant, Rosalie," she breathes, her eyes shimmering with equal parts delight and sadness.

The stab of pain in my chest takes the air from my lungs as I try to come up with a suitable response.

"Rose... please... don't be upset. Please?"


	16. Chapter 16

The effort it takes me to push past the hurt is almost too much, but I do it - for Vera. I can see in her eyes how much it pains her to see me suffer.

How much she still loves me, as I do her.

How excited she is about the prospect of becoming a mother.

That's a dream we've always shared - children. And now she will have them.

With Lloyd.

Taking a deep breath, I force a smile on my face. "Congratulations, Vera."

I rise to hug her. Her arms wrap around me as she sobs quietly.


	17. Chapter 17

Vera's starting to show. She's insisting on sharing this experience with me, and though it pains me, I'm also secretly thrilled. There are still _some _things that she'll only share with me.

I'd planned on going to see her today, but Mother intercepted me, saying I needed to go to Father's bank to bring his lunch.

The dress she forces me into has me puzzled, but I do as I'm told, though I make a minor detour to apologize to Vera. We agree to meet the following week, making plans for a shopping trip to get her some new dresses.


	18. Chapter 18

I've been to Father's work before, but never has he paraded me around as he does today. The attention I receive from the people there is both flattering and flustering.

There's one person, however, who catches _my _attention when he takes my hand, placing a kiss on the back of it as he greets me, his eyes alight with interest, appreciation and humor.

I can't help but blush, which brings a mischievous smile to his lips.

"Truly a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hale," he rumbles. "Royce King III, at your service."

Father's chest swells with pride as I curtsey.


	19. Chapter 19

A bouquet of roses arrives a few days later with a card from Royce. His words have me blushing again, although they are by no means improper. I know he's asked Father for the privilege of courting me.

I also know that both Father and Mother were extremely pleased and eager for me to accept his advances, and that they gave their permission for the courtship heartily.

I read the card again.

_Miss Hale, would you do me the honor of escorting me this Friday-_

Pushing the card away roughly, I sigh. After I collect myself, I send my reply.


	20. Chapter 20

Vera and I are sipping tea, talking about how things are with her, how attentive Lloyd is being. I'm happy for her, truly, I am.

It helps that I have Royce now.

Royce, who loves to take me to functions, to shower me with gifts and flowers.

He isn't Vera, and he'll never be able to take her place in my heart, but at least he wants me.

At least _he _can have me.

It feels good to know I'm wanted - cherished.

My blush at his latest extravagance of filling my bedroom with roses and violets tips Vera off.


	21. Chapter 21

As things with Royce progress, I struggle to allow myself to simply enjoy what attention he gives me, pushing aside my feelings for Vera.

I become more aloof, stand-offish, and generally begin acting even more the spoiled child than I ever have before.

Vera is due any day now. Lloyd's doting on her, even asking _me _for any guidance I can offer to make her feel better during these last few weeks.

I lash out more. I know people call me a snob - conceited. Selfish.

But I'm not.

In truth, I am heartbroken.

And I can tell no one.


	22. Chapter 22

Mother's fussing with my hair, blathering on and on about how _happy _she is for me. How good life will be for me as Royce's wife.

She coos about the ring Royce gave me when he asked me to marry him.

Fawns over all the things we'll need to do in time for the wedding. Get the dress. The flowers. Who to invite, where to place them.

I let it all wash over me, not quite able to match her enthusiasm.

I know marrying Royce will make a good match.

It'll make my parents very happy.

But what about me?


	23. Chapter 23

Royce frowns at me, not understanding. "Why, Rose? We're supposed to go to the gala tonight."

I sigh, placing my hand on his arm in hope of placating him. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Vera needs me. She's in labor. I cannot abandon her now."

His eyes search mine intently. I can tell he's far from pleased. He'd purchased a beautiful gown just for the occasion, so he could show off his bride-to-be.

"Please, Royce. She's my best friend."

After a too long silence, he nods his consent, albeit reluctantly.

Kissing his cheek, I whisper, "Thank you."

I wonder if he suspects.


	24. Chapter 24

"It's a boy! Oh, Vera, it's a boy," I laugh and cry as I take the screaming infant from the midwife.

Turning to Vera, I smile brightly at her. She's exhausted, her cheeks streaked with tears, but she's smiling too.

Leaning forward, I gently place her son on her chest, staying close enough to help if she needs it. I'm worried for her; she looks so very weak right now.

Lloyd is allowed in and he's instantly at her side, beaming with pride.

The joy in her voice is unmistakable as she whispers, "Welcome to the world, Henry Lloyd Roche."


	25. Chapter 25

I stay with her another day at their request, as Lloyd cannot afford time from his job and they have no help. I stay, even though I know it'll upset Royce's plans.

I find that I don't care. Vera needs me more and will _always _come first.

The day is spent cleaning her house and tending to mother and child when needed. Vera's asleep most of the time. More than once I sneak into her room to watch over her. I even dare to caress her like I used to, once upon a time.

She wakes with a sleepy smile.


	26. Chapter 26

Royce insists on spending more time together, being seen together. Whenever he isn't working at the bank, that is. My parents are in agreement with him, claiming it's important to be seen so that everyone will wish to attend the grand affair that is to be my wedding day.

I miss Vera terribly, wanting nothing more than to visit with her and little Henry, though whenever I manage to sneak in a few minutes with her, I try to avoid being around Lloyd.

Why, exactly, I'm not sure, but I have a nagging feeling I can't quite rid myself of.


	27. Chapter 27

Exhausted. Completely and utterly exhausted. Between my parents and Royce, they have paraded me around, or had me so busy attending to the details of the wedding, that I've had no time to myself, let alone a chance to visit Vera and little Henry for three solid weeks.

When Mother enters my room, insisting on going over yet another wedding detail, I put my foot down, insisting I be allowed to visit my best friend. "Tomorrow, Mother, I promise. We have a whole week yet."

Finally she relents and lets me get dressed to go to Vera's for the day.


	28. Chapter 28

Lloyd's gone for the day by the time I arrive, something I'm thankful for. Vera hugs me, holding on for longer than would be deemed proper. Longer, indeed, than she has in a while.

I realize just how much I've missed her. Before I can stop myself, I kiss her lightly on the neck - the door's still open, something Vera's quick to remind me of.

Stepping away quickly, I blush, stammering an apology. Closing the door, she shushes me, her fingers brushing my cheek as she smiles.

Her eyes tell me what her words cannot.

She misses me too.


	29. Chapter 29

The hours with Vera are blissfully quiet. Henry is such a good little boy, hardly making any fuss as his mother and I catch up.

He's on my lap, snoring soft baby-snores. Vera smiles at us fondly, then raises her eyes to mine. I'm startled to find them glistening with tears.

"I wish... I wish this could have been possible for us, Rose," she whispers quietly.

Suddenly, I find myself unable to speak, so I nod and reach for her hand. We sit in silence for a while, each of us lost in 'what might have been and if only'.


	30. Chapter 30

By the time Lloyd returns home from work, Vera and I have managed to turn our moods around and be cheerful again. It helps to see how little Henry reacts to his Papa coming home and to see how much his father dotes on him.

Suddenly, I feel very much an outsider - like I don't belong. Watching how sweet Lloyd is being to both Henry and Vera, hugging and kissing them . Seeing how fond Vera's grown of her husband...

It's almost too much to bear.

_She's made a good life for herself, as she deserves,_ I remind myself.


	31. Chapter 31

Lloyd insists I have dinner with them. What possesses me to agree, I do not know, but before I know it, it's dark outside.

After helping Vera put Henry to bed, I sigh, reluctant to leave yet unable to stay. Today has been the best and worst I've had in a while - though the best outweighs the rest by far. I feel closer to Vera than I have in almost a year and I fear losing that re-discovered connection.

Vera does too. I can tell by how she frets as I pull on my coat.

"You shouldn't walk alone..."


	32. Chapter 32

"It's only a few blocks," I remind her gently. "The streets are lit. I'll be fine."

"But it isn't proper!" she insists, though her eyes tell me her real worry. That something will happen to me.

Lloyd offers to walk me home, putting on his coat. I decline stubbornly, especially when he wraps his arm protectively around his wife in an attempt to comfort her.

It isn't until I promise to stop by the following morning before heading into town with Mother that she relents.

I hug her tightly as I whisper into her ear, "I love you, Vera. Always."


	33. Chapter 33

Her whispered response still rings in my ears as I walk home briskly, wanting to lock myself in my room and savor the knowledge of her continued love for me.

Raucous laughter from further down the street floats to my ears. I frown as I take in the shadowy forms of a small group of men, light glinting off of something.

Glass. Bottles, I realize as I near them.

_Drunken louts_.

They laugh, making remarks that should never be made in public.

I tug at the collar of my coat, flipping it up as if it could ward them off.


	34. Chapter 34

"Rose! _There's _my Rose."

The shock of hearing Royce call my name is the only reason I can think of that compels me to walk toward the group.

"Royce?" I ask in disbelief. Never, in all the time I've known him, have I seen him drunk. At parties he's always refused to partake in alcohol, but now...

I'm flabbergasted at the display I see before me. Five grown men acting like ill-behaved children, making crude jokes and improper gestures as Royce asks one of them whether he was right.

"Isn't she the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" he slurs.


	35. Chapter 35

Panic bubbles up inside as Royce clumsily tries to unbutton my coat in order to grope me. His lips are hard on mine and it takes everything I have in me to push him away from me.

"Royce! I'll see you tomorrow. _Sober._" I manage with a barely level voice.

As I attempt to pull my coat closed again, I see it. His eyes are suddenly burning with contempt, and a determination that frightens me.

I try to struggle as he grabs my arm, nearly twisting it out of my socket as he all but drags me into an alley.


	36. Chapter 36

His friends follow. They seem amused, making jokes, jeering him on, and taking bets as they continue to drink.

I try to scream. To beg Royce, "Please, just stop! Royce, please!"

It's to no avail. The anger in him consumes him completely and I'm not left wondering as to the cause when he begins to rail at me.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out, you whore?"

Spittle sprays into my face as he yells at me, telling me how he happened to walk by Vera's house that morning and saw us in an embrace.

How he spied on us.


	37. Chapter 37

"I'll show you, you trollop... Show you what a _real _man can do... Kissing _her _when you never even..."

It goes on and on to the point where I can't hear it anymore.

Tears, and pain, and my own pleading voice are all I register as Royce takes from me what I willingly gave to Vera.

Every sob seems to spur him on, but when I whimper, "Vera..." he loses it completely.

_That _is when my nightmare truly begins.

_That _is when he starts beating me.

_That_ is when his friends join in with cheers of, "We'll teach you, doll-face."


	38. Chapter 38

Finally, it's over.

The beatings have stopped.

They're standing over me, gloating, congratulating each other on a lesson well taught. There isn't an orifice they haven't violated. Not a patch of skin unbruised.

I feel the blood seeping from the various wounds they inflicted. I pray that this is truly the end, unable to imagine being able to survive all the damage they've done unto me.

With final insults thrown my way, a few spit on me before they all just... walk away.

Leaving me for dead.

But not without the promise from Royce ringing in my head.

"_She's next."_


	39. Chapter 39

The darkness threatens to take me and I welcome it. Even with Royce's threat to my Vera, I can no longer fight. I'm hurting too badly, losing too much blood.

I'm broken - inside and out.

_Let me die... please, let me die..._

The darkness shifts, my eyes surely deceiving me when Doctor Cullen's face hovers over mine, his brow creased with worry, pity, and something I cannot define.

His eyes are pitch black, making me wonder - even in my feeble state.

I'm sure I imagine his whispered, "Such a waste..."

He lifts me in his arms.

I moan.


	40. Chapter 40

The next time I open my eyes, I'm puzzled. I'm in a bed, in a room not my own. I hear voices.

Vaguely familiar voices, arguing.

Abruptly, they cease and Doctor Cullen is at my side. "Miss Hale?"

I try to nod, to speak, but find I can do neither.

A humming comes from the other side of the room, but I cannot move to locate its source. Doctor Cullen smiles gently, his eyes still holding pity - I despise it.

I do not deserve to _be _pitied.

I just want to die.

Why won't they just let me die?


	41. Chapter 41

Doctor Cullen - _Carlisle_, as he insists I call him - explains what he's about to do.

He talks of biting me, injecting his venom into my veins. Of burning for days.

Throughout it all, I stare at him in disbelief.

_He wants to injure me further?_

_What would possess such a man as he to bring me to his home, and tell tall tales as I lie here dying?_

_Preposterous... Just leave me in peace._

I close my eyes, hoping he'll take the hint and leave me be.

He whispers, "I'm so sorry, Rosalie."

Then, searing pain.

I scream.


	42. Chapter 42

For three days, I burn. The pain's so intense, I wish he _had _let me die.

Nothing. _Nothing _could possibly be worth going through this for.

At first, I cannot think. I only feel the scathing fire as it runs through my veins.

Claiming me.

Marking me.

Then, thought comes again. Slowly, images flicker behind my eyelids.

Vera.

Mother.

Father.

My brothers.

Little Henry.

Vera.

Then, the voices filter through again. Softly, at first, then louder and clearer as time goes by.

"I could _never _be with her," someone hisses.

"But-" Carlisle begins.

"No! I've read her mind..."

_He knows!_


	43. Chapter 43

Panic grips me as the truth of Carlisle's words finally begins to take hold.

_I'm a vampire?_

_Oh God!_

_He _read _my mind?_

All these thoughts flit through my head so fast I can scarcely grasp them. I listen intently as the conversation - in the other _room_, I realize, though I can hear it as if I'm right beside them - continues.

Thankfully, my secret remains just that - a secret. From the others, at least.

The need to cry builds inside me, but no tears will form.

"Shh, it's going to be alright, sweetheart," a soft voice chimes.


	44. Chapter 44

The burning's finally gone. Carlisle sits by my side and explains everything again, this time more fully, informing me of the rules of our species and those of their house.

I listen attentively, instinctively aware of the importance of his every word.

When he's done, he insists we go hunting.

I flinch at the thought. He smiles apologetically.

Running, after everything I've been through, is somehow very freeing and I laugh - albeit slightly hysterically.

Esme's at my side at once with reassurances.

The first deer is equal parts disgusting and heavenly as the blood drains into my parched throat.


	45. Chapter 45

It's days before they trust me enough to be alone.

Sitting at my desk, in the room they gave me, I stare out of the window. My mind replays the last moments of my life over and over again as I desperately try to hold onto it all.

The need to remember _who_ it is I have to protect at all cost and _why _drives my efforts.

Vera's whispered words of love.

Royce's whispered promise, "_She's next."_

And everything in between, even though I wish I could forget _those_ memories - they're all too tightly linked to risk losing them.


	46. Chapter 46

Time passes. My plan long since formed in my head. I know Edward is aware of it, though he has yet to mention anything. Every time my thoughts stray, he'll give me a certain _look _that tells me everything I need to know.

He'll not tell.

The day Carlisle informs us it's time to move on, I make my decision.

All I need is ready. I've stolen a wedding dress, which I intend to use for Royce.

Edward knocks on my door. "You have to tell them."

"Why?" I challenge.

"This concerns them, too. You're family now."

I watch him.


	47. Chapter 47

They all know what I intend to do. They've all made their feelings known on it.

Esme with quiet support and understanding.

Carlisle trying to talk me out of it.

Edward... just _looks _at me.

After Esme and Carlisle have gone hunting, I ask Edward, "Why have you not told them? I know you know... about..."

If I could still blush, I would.

Edward stares at me for a long moment. "It's not my secret to share, Rosalie. I... understand why you're doing this," he waves at the dress and then continues, "I'll not stop you. I won't help either."


	48. Chapter 48

It's time.

I've already disposed of the others, making sure each one of them suffered and was found quickly..

Royce is last.

I want him to know I'm coming.

To fear.

To suffer.

I grin when I see the guards. They're no match for me and dead before I've even counted to five.

Royce is in the other room; I can hear him whimper. Smell the stench of fear and alcohol dripping from him.

When I crash through the locked doors, he scurries away, blubbering for mercy. Soiling himself as he takes everything in.

White dress.

Ruby red eyes.

Death.


	49. Chapter 49

Every scream, every howl of agony that escapes him as I mutilate his body sends thrills down my spine.

He begs for his life, for this to all just be a nightmare he can wake up from.

I relish telling him in detail how that will never happen. Reminding him of his promise to me, I assure him, "You will _never _harm another again."

Vera's safe. Untouched by this filth. That much, Edward had done - from the moment he'd lifted the words out of my mind, he'd said. I would forever be grateful.

I delight in Royce's final scream.


	50. Chapter 50

Everything's packed, the others are ready to go. They've allowed me a few minutes so I can take care of this one last thing before we leave Rochester forever.

Standing outside her house, I gaze into the living room. My dead heart breaks at the sight of Vera, huddled in her rocker with Henry squirming and whimpering in her lap.

She's crying as she reads my letter. My goodbye.

The best I can give her is the belief that I could not go through with my wedding and ran away, never to return.

"I'll love you, Vera. Always," I whisper.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Alas, we have reached the end of Rose's story. I'm actually quite sad to mark this as complete.

Thank you, for coming on this ride with me. I hope that reading this has given you a slightly different perspective on Rosalie.

To preempt any questions, Rose's story from here out is canon. I've just given a bit of a twist to the reason behind Rose being Rose in the books.

I do not expect to revisit this story.

Thank you, once again, to **_Evieeden_** for the prompt, the banner, and the bunny, as well as beta services.


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